When someone in your life does something special for you, you find it easy to give that person praise. When a wife receives flowers from her husband out of the blue, she tells everyone what he did. When a husband receives tickets from his wife to go see his favorite team play, he lets everyone know. When kids are taken on a special vacation by their parents, they tell all their friends. The special things that you might tell others vary by what you like, but when someone does something special for you, you sing their praises. The reality is those people in your life most likely deserved your praise anyway, but you only praised after their special action. Psalm 18 is an occasion when David was praising God after he had done something special for him. He had delivered him from his enemies and so he spent time praising the Lord. In truth, God deserved his praise even before he delivered David, yet David’s words are worthy of our consideration. David started this Psalm by saying, “1 I love you, O Lord, my strength. 2 The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. 3 I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies.” David noticed that the Lord is worthy of praise, and that is true no matter our circumstances. He then went on to describe in descriptive terms how the Lord worked to deliver him. There is no doubt that David saw God as mighty and powerful and worthy of his praise, so he was trying to describe God’s greatness. These words I’m sure still do not do God justice but at least David sought to express his appreciation to God, and we should do the same.
David also recognized the importance of people living in a way that pleases the Lord. Beginning in verse 25 David says, “25 With the merciful you show yourself merciful; with the blameless man you show yourself blameless; 26 with the purified you show yourself pure; and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous. 27 For you save a humble people, but the haughty eyes you bring down.” We shouldn’t take these words to mean that everything goes perfect in life for a person who follows the Lord, but these are some general principles that you can observe in life. God has even told us in other places that he shows mercy to the merciful and that he is on the side of the humble. As David lived out these principles, he saw God deliver him in mighty ways. What you can know is that as you live for God, you will be able to see his hand work in your life as well. What you must not forget is that when God works in your life, remember to give him praise. That is how David also ended this Psalm as he said, “49 For this I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations, and sing to your name. 50 Great salvation he brings to his king, and shows steadfast love to his anointed, to David and his offspring forever.” Let’s make sure in our lives that we sing God’s praises. We should always sing God’s praises, but most certainly, we should sing his praises when we see him deliver or bless in some way. Has God done something recently for you that deserves praise? If so, tell someone about it. Let others know what he has done. By praising God and sharing with others what God has done for you, it helps point them to God who wants to work in their lives, too.
VC Devotionals 